New mobile data laws in South Africa to take effect

South Africa is 10 days away from new data regulations – with mobile
customers soon to be spared from out of bundle charges, unless they
choose to opt in.

The amended End User and Subscriber Services Charter (EUSSC)
Regulations will come into effect on 1 March, which will prevent mobile
operators from automatically charging out of bundle data rates for
customers who do not opt in to the service.

The regulations also state that mobile operators must send usage
depletion notifications (SMSes) as customers consume their data bundles.

According to the amended regulations published on Tuesday (12
February), these usage depletion notifications must be sent via SMS,
push notification or ‘any other applicable means’, at depletion levels
of 50%, 80% and 100%.

End-users must also be provided with an option to opt-out of voice and SMS usage notifications.

Cell C said it has implemented the bulk of the changes, and its
customers will have seen the new notifications service, the additional
rollover facility and data transfer.

Additional requirements announced by Icasa on 12 February, however, are still under review.

From 1 March, Cell C said it will be turning on the feature that
prevents customers from making use of the out-of-bundle (OOB) facility
for data, unless they opt into OOB usage.

“This is the most significant change that will have the widest impact on mobile consumers,” the group said.

South Africa is 10 days away from new data regulations – with mobile
customers soon to be spared from out of bundle charges, unless they
choose to opt in.

The amended End User and Subscriber Services Charter (EUSSC)
Regulations will come into effect on 1 March, which will prevent mobile
operators from automatically charging out of bundle data rates for
customers who do not opt in to the service.

The regulations also state that mobile operators must send usage
depletion notifications (SMSes) as customers consume their data bundles.

According to the amended regulations published on Tuesday (12
February), these usage depletion notifications must be sent via SMS,
push notification or ‘any other applicable means’, at depletion levels
of 50%, 80% and 100%.

End-users must also be provided with an option to opt-out of voice and SMS usage notifications.

Cell C said it has implemented the bulk of the changes, and its
customers will have seen the new notifications service, the additional
rollover facility and data transfer.

Additional requirements announced by Icasa on 12 February, however, are still under review.

From 1 March, Cell C said it will be turning on the feature that
prevents customers from making use of the out-of-bundle (OOB) facility
for data, unless they opt into OOB usage.

“This is the most significant change that will have the widest impact on mobile consumers,” the group said.

From March, mobile data users will be able to opt-in or set limits to
OOB spend by using Cell C’s Spend Control service, which allows
customers to completely manage their OOB usage – whether it be for data,
voice or SMS.

“Customers can opt-in on the Cell C App or via USSD. If customers
opt-in before the 1 March deadline, they will not be asked to do so
again,” the group said.

Cell C warned that customers who don’t opt-in by the deadline may
find themselves in a situation where they don’t have access to any data
once their data bundle runs out – even if airtime is available or they
are on an open contract.

“The amount of airtime they can access or amount they can choose for
OOB data usage on their contract is tied to the rand value they assign
to their OOB data limit using Spend Control.

“For example, if a customer sets an OOB limit to R100, they can use
up to R100 to continue using data once their bundle runs out,” it said.

“It’s up to customers to determine how their cell phone spend will
work, according to their budget and in order to avoid running out of
data. However, customers will need to opt-in to get the benefits of the
Spend Control function and to make sure they are never without data,
SMSes or call time when they need it the most.”

From March, mobile data users will be able to opt-in or set limits to OOB spend by using Cell C’s Spend Control service, which allows customers to completely manage their OOB usage – whether it be for data, voice or SMS.

“Customers can opt-in on the Cell C App or via USSD. If customers opt-in before the 1 March deadline, they will not be asked to do so again,” the group said.

Cell C warned that customers who don’t opt-in by the deadline may
find themselves in a situation where they don’t have access to any data
once their data bundle runs out – even if airtime is available or they
are on an open contract.

“The amount of airtime they can access or amount they can choose for OOB data usage on their contract is tied to the rand value they assign to their OOB data limit using Spend Control.

“For example, if a customer sets an OOB limit to R100, they can use up to R100 to continue using data once their bundle runs out,” it said.

“It’s up to customers to determine how their cell phone spend will work, according to their budget and in order to avoid running out of data. However, customers will need to opt-in to get the benefits of the Spend Control function and to make sure they are never without data, SMSes or call time when they need it the most.”

Brent Donald

This is my collection of some of the things I find interesting from art, design, internet culture, technology and advertising and scoops I get from colleagues and my searches. Internet technology is one of the best technologies that we have been afforded to utilize accordingly.